Chapter 1.3 - Situational variables for obedience Flashcards
What are situational variables?
Features of the immediate physical and social environment which may influence a person’s behaviour
What are the three situational variables?
Proximity, location, and uniform
What is proximity?
The physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to
Give some statistics for proximity in Milgram’s case study
Milgram’s proximity variation(T&L in same room) obedience dropped from 60% to 40%, touch proximity (T forces L’s hand to give shock) = 30%, remote instruction(E leaves room and gives instructions by telephone) = 20.5%, the participants also frequently pretended to give shocks
How did the decreased proximity increase obedience?
Decreased proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions
-> In the baseline study, the teacher was less aware of the harm they were causing the other person since they were physically separated, resulting in higher levels of obedience
What is location?
The place where an order is issued, the relevant factor that influences obedience is the status or prestige associated with the location
Give some statistics for location in Milgram’s case study
A variation was conducted in a run down office block rather than in Yale University in the baseline study, obedience fell to 47.5%
How did the location increase obedience?
The prestigious university environment gave Milgram’s study legitimacy and authority leading to higher obedience since participants perceived that the Experimenter shared these qualities
What is uniform?
People in positions of authority often have a specific outfit that is symbolic of their authority, for example police officers and judges, this indicates that they are entitles to expect our obedience
Give some statistics for uniform in Milgram’s case study
In the baseline experiment the Experimenter wore a grey lab coat as a symbol of his authority but in one variation the Experimenter left and was replaced by an ordinary member of the public(confederate) in everyday clothes, the obedience rates dropped to 20%, the lowest of these variations
How did the uniform increase obedience?
Uniforms encourage obedience because they are widely recognised symbols of authority and we accept that they are entitled to expect our obedience since their authority is legitimate and have worked hard to reach that level/status
What is an advantage of situational variables? (research support)
→ Other studies have demonstrates the influence of situational variables on obedience, 3 confederates askes people to perform tasks, they were twice as likely to obey the assistant dressed up as a security guard than the one dressed in a jacket and tie
→ Support the view that a situations variable does have a powerful effect on obedience
What is an advantage of situational variables? (cross-cultural replications)
→ Milgram’s findings have been replicated in other countries and have produced similar results, 90% obeyed but when the person giving the orders wasn’t present, levels dropped dramatically
→ His findings were not just limited to Americans or men, but are valid across cultures and apply to women too
What is a counterpoint for cross-cultural replications?
→ There have only been two replications that have taken place in India and Jordan(culturally different countries) whereas there have been replications in countries culturally similar to the US(similar notions about the role of authority)
→ Not appropriate to conclude that Milgram’s findings apply to people in all or most cultures
What is a limitation of situational variables? (low internal validity)
Participants may have been aware the procedure was faked since the situation is not commonly occurring and so the participants might’ve seen through the deception and responded to demand characteristics
